Home  Contact Us
  Follow Us On:
 
Search:
Advertising Advertising Free Newsletter Free E-Newsletter
Magazine
  
      2024       2023       2022       2021       2020       2019       2018       2017       2016       2015       2014       2013       2012       2011       2010       2009       2008

IN DEPTH: Crypto currencies of the Future. What is the Next Bitcoin?
Share to

Crypto currencies of the Future
What is the Next Bitcoin?
By Harold Murphy

BT 201710 IN DEPTH 09 2      比特币最近十分吸引眼球。勒索软件引发全球关注,比特币成为工具。同时,比特币价格仍在扶摇直上,近30日已经实现翻倍。从诞生之初到现在,比特币价格经历了多次过山车般的上下震荡阶段,到今年又出现了疯狂上涨,近来的最高日涨幅达到200美元。但值钱的并非只有这一种加密货币,“长江后浪推前浪”,更多新生的加密货币也活跃在了这块市场中争得一席之地。Bitcoin Cash,Ethereum,Ripple和ZCash正是其中最活跃的几类。

      Bitcoin Cash于今年8月2日在万众期待中诞生,这一替代型数字货币目前已经在加密货币市场中排名第三。尽管BCH从比特币区块链中分叉进展缓慢,其价格一度创造了217美元的新低,但似乎现在正在加快增长速度。推动BCH发展的主要因素之一就是它能把区块容量从1MB提升到8MB。

      近期排名第二的加密货币是Ethereum,在2014年,来自加拿大多伦多年仅19岁的Vitalik Buterin开发者发布了一个新的平台Ethereum,它不仅能容许现在已知的各种加密货币,并且承诺将在一个单一区块内兼容一系列去中心化的程序。Ethereum的意图是为加密货币打造一种操作系统。开发者能创造各种软件,譬如社交或文件存储,作为一部分置身于 Ethereum网络的软件商店中。


      紧随比特币、Ethereum、Bitcoin Cash之后的Ripple是一个开放的支付网络。就跟Ripple这个单词的解释“涟漪”一样,强调的是资金的流动和传递。这个平台上使用的是XRP币,这种加密货币本身是内嵌在Ripple系统内的。与比特币不同,Ripple在建立之初就发行了1000亿XRP币,且总额不再增加。Ripple目前的交易价格为0.15美元,市值约为60亿美元。相比其他货币,比如比特币(680亿美元市值),Ethereum(280亿美元市值),Bitcoin Cash(130亿美元的市值)和ZCash(4.6亿美元的市值 ),Ripple受到越来越多的金融机构支持。


      我们最后要提到的这种加密货币Zcash比较特殊,它是少有的被企业公开认可的加密货币。2016年9月,Jaxx开发团队在了解苹果及其iOS开发团队的严格要求和高标准后,Jaxx和Zcash的工程技术人员经过长时间的开发把Zcash整合到了Jaxx的手机应用系统中。苹果公司最终通过了这一整合,把Zcash认可为一种正当的加密货币。


      目前市面上有900多种加密货币,这些货币丰富着社会交易方式,但是对于投资者而言则需要慎重投资和购买。加密货币依然存在一定风险,需加以警惕。

BT 201710 IN DEPTH 05Introduction

Bitcoin has long been the “gold standard” in the world of digital currencies. Invented in 2009 as the first currency not backed by any government and central bank and valued exclusively by the forces of supply and demand, Bitcoin’s popularity skyrocketed since 2013. Since then, a new term that has been applied to all digital currencies is “cryptocurrency”.
 

We all know about Bitcoin today. The surge in price since the beginning of 2017 made headlines and attracted masses of people who decided to join the cryptocurrency hysteria. Just looking at the price chart of Bitcoin shows that this was a profitable move – the currency jumped from below $1,000 in January to over $4,000 after the Bitcoin split wherein a new currency emerged – Bitcoin Cash.
 

Now that almost everyone is speaking about Bitcoin, is it time to look for other digital currencies for investing or just diversifying your portfolio? They say that when your taxi driver advises you about popular investments, sell it as soon as possible!
 

In this article, we will introduce you to a few cryptocurrencies that might be the next Bitcoin: Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ripple and ZCash.
 

Bitcoin Cash

BT 201710 IN DEPTH 01One of the most important restrictions with Bitcoin was its block size of just one megabyte. A block is a part of blockchain technology that affects transaction speed. To overcome this obstacle, developers split Bitcoin into two currencies – Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash. Since August 2nd, investors can invest in Bitcoin Cash, which in contrast to Bitcoin’s limited block size now features an eight-megabyte block size, allowing for faster transaction speeds. The new currency touched almost $757 the day after the split after which it retraced and recently made a two-day rally during which the price more than doubled. Bitcoin Cash is now the third largest digital currency with a $15 billion market capitalization, just after the original Bitcoin and Ethereum.

BT 201710 IN DEPTH 08Unlike Bitcoin which is available on many exchanges and can be traded around the world, only a few major exchanges have added Bitcoin Cash. The recent run largely happened on three South Korean exchanges, representing about $1.2 billion of the $2 billion total trade volume of Bitcoin Cash on Friday, August 18th. This means that as more exchanges are adding Bitcoin Cash to their range of digital currencies, the price of the new currency could rise even more.
 

Ethereum

BT 201710 IN DEPTH 04With a market capitalization of almost $28 billion, Ethereum is the second largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin. Ethereum started in 2016 and reached a high of almost $400 in June 2017. It is currently trading at around $300. When speaking about Ethereum, it is important to note that this is not just a cryptocurrency – it is a complete open-source network based on blockchain and is arguably the most advanced network out there.
 

The Ethereum network is powered by Ether, the network’s digital currency. Every transaction that happens in Ethereum’s blockchain is recorded in a separate block, just like Bitcoin does, but here comes the main difference: transaction speed.

BT 201710 IN DEPTH 09While Bitcoin takes dozens of minutes to process a single transaction, Ethereum’s blockchain takes only a little over 10 seconds! The reason for this is that Ethereum is coded in a Turing-complete language, meaning that it can virtually run any algorithm. This diversity of Ethereum’s underlying technology is one of the main reasons for the currency’s popularity. However, with the creation of Bitcoin Cash and its larger block size and faster transaction speed as compared to the original Bitcoin, we could witness a real battle between Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash in the near future.
 

Another point where Ethereum excels is smart contracts. The whole Ethereum network is actually developed to handle smart contracts, which are an important feature that add to the network’s stability and efficiency. The ability to handle smart contracts combined with Ethereum’s high processing speed of transactions attracted multinational companies with the goal to incorporate Ethereum’s blockchain into their business. The most notable of them includes Intel, Microsoft, J.P. Morgan and other Fortune 500 companies. Take note that the CEOs of these companies are famous for their accuracy when it comes to predicting trends and investing into profitable niches. This could be a positive sign for prospective investors in Ethereum.
 

Ripple

BT 201710 IN DEPTH 08 2Ripple is, just like Ethereum, much more than being just a digital currency. It has the advantage to be both a transport protocol and a currency. Simply said, Ripple is a real-time payment system that allows exchange of money regardless of the sender’s and recipient’s location.
 

Ripple was originally launched in 2012, making it one of the first digital currencies to be available to the public, and was backed by an experienced team that also worked with Bitcoin.

BT 201710 IN DEPTH 10Ripple has also made significant progress in establishing relations with traditional financial institutions, namely big banks. By using Ripple to process payments, banks save a big amount of money by utilizing Ripple’s simple and effective payment system. Once more banks adopt Ripple, we could see a real surge in value of the currency as more and more transactions will be made through this currency.
 

Ripple currently trades at $0.15 and has a market capitalization of around $6 billion. Compared to the other currencies like Bitcoin ($68 billion market cap, $4150 price), Ethereum ($28 billion market cap, $300 price), Bitcoin Cash ($13 billion market cap, $815 price) and ZCash ($460 million market cap, $230 price), Ripple looks like a bargain with a promising underlying technology backed by an increasing number of financial institutions.
 

ZCash

BT 201710 IN DEPTH 06Digital currencies are often praised for their ability to make transactions private and non-transparent. However, currencies like Bitcoin have partly failed to ensure hundred-percent privacy as transactions recorded on Bitcoin’s blockchain can be examined and reverse-engineered to identify what a person has actually purchased.
 

This is where ZCash comes in. This digital currency was initially launched in late 2016 with the promise to increase privacy and anonymity of users engaged in a transaction. With implementation of zero-knowledge proof constructions (zk-SNARKs), two users can exchange information without revealing their identity or amount of transaction. The only information recorded is that a transaction took place.

BT 201710 IN DEPTH 11As compared to Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and Ripple, ZCash has a relatively small market capitalization of around $460 million. However, taking into account the total market capitalization of all digital currencies in the amount of $144 billion, ZCash has still enough room to grow. With a recent price of $230, this currency also seems relatively cheap as compared to other major digital currencies.
 

Summary

As of July 2017, there were more than 900 cryptocurrencies available on the Internet. Picking the right ones is a tough undertaking, especially when it comes to investing and long-term growth of a currency. Out of the many available cryptocurrencies, we have picked ones we believe have the most potential considering their current market capitalization, underlying network technology and support by financial institutions and multinational corporations. However, as a trader or investor in the world of cryptocurrencies, you should always be aware of the risks associated with it, most notably the enormous price fluctuations that might occur within a short period of time.
 

---END---

    Subscription    |     Advertising    |     Contact Us    |
Address: Magnetic Plaza, Building A4, 6th Floor, Binshui Xi Dao.
Nankai District. 300381 TIANJIN. PR CHINA
Tel: +86 22 23917700
E-mail: webmaster@businesstianjin.com
Copyright 2024 BusinessTianjin.com. All rights reserved.